The Dead Horse Canyon Saga is being packaged as a scripted three season revenge-drama series based on these award-winning novels by Marcha Fox and Pete Risingsun. It targets viewers who crave complex character-driven plots steeped in a present-day conspiracy enriched with historical and cultural context, then spiced with a generous pinch of Indigenous mysticism.
The series is expandable, based on the trilogy’s open ending, which presents a plethora of additional possibilities.
LOGLINE: Hacker, Bryan Reynolds, pays the ultimate price when he discovers a Top-Secret underground facility built beneath sacred land, forcing his grieving widow and Cheyenne best friend into a deadly government conspiracy where corporate power, ancient prophecy, and modern corruption collide.
A Unique Genre Blend
While I originally compared the series to Dark Winds and the X-Files, I have since decided they are not an accurate representation. The inclusion of Native American culture with a conspiracy fits Dark Winds, but the tone doesn’t. Upon watching the new season of that series, I realized that Dead Horse Canyon is not nearly that dark or violent. The X-Files still fits to some degree, especially the dual protagonists. However, here is what I believe is a better fit: “Longmire meets Snowden with a side-helping of Ghost.”
Longmire is not nearly as dark while still showing a different view of Native American culture. The main comparison is Walt Longmire’s long-term friendship with Henry Standing Bear, which is similar to that between Bryan Reynolds and Charlie Littlewolf. Furthermore, Dead Horse Canyon focuses on Cheyenne spirituality as opposed to life on a reservation. Snowden captures Bryan Reynolds’ intent to reveal classified information that he believed the American people had a right to know. While Snowden would up an exile living in Russia, Bryan paid with his life. The 1990s movie, Ghost, fits the messages from the spirit world from Bryan as well as Charlie’s medicine man grandfather, Eaglefeathers. Supporting character, astrologer Patrice Renard, corresponds with the psychic in Ghost.
This series is unique, combining these different factors in a way that has not been done before. If you’ve read the books, you know there is plenty of suspense but far less overt violence.
Timely and Relevant
Government corruption is being exposed at levels never before seen, even as the voices of indigenous people increase in volume. The issue of lobbying is another hot topic, as more and more Americans question how corporations virtually running the country fits the intent of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution.
The synopsis is below. Additional details such as a Pitch Deck, Treatment, and Pilot Script are Available upon Request from credible sources.